Reversing-gear.



S. BAADER.

REVERSING GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19. 1911.

1 ,%68 9]. Q0 Patented Juno IL 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

S. BAADER.

REVERSING GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19. 1917.

1 Q68,9 1 2w Patented J mm 11, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

S. BAADER.

REVERSING GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19. 1911.

1 268 9 1 $0 I Patented June 11, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

S. BAADER.

HEVERSING GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19. 1911.

1 268, 91 2, Patented June 11, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

k 3 13 KW m I 2d 7g r O O O p n Q) I I rig/0U F1 24 I 15 41 l 7 5 9/ A? 73 y 5% W i a? W STEPHEN BAADER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

REVERSING-GEAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1M, rare.

Application filed February 19, 1917. Serial No. 149,324.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHAN BAADER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia,-in the county of Philadelphia. and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Re versing-Gears, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of improvements 111 reversing gears, such for example as are used on locomotives and more particularly consists of improved means whereby the movable elements of a reversing gear are automatically looked, after they have moved a pre-determined distance, to prevent accidental or creeping movement of said elements as was common occurrence in reversing gears in use prior to my invention.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide such means as above mentioned which will act to positively prevent sald accidental or creeping movement and which can be readily controlled by the engineer or other person who governs the movement of the reversing gear proper.

Another object is to so construct my invention that it will be impossible for the engineer to start the movement of the reversing gear until the locking means thereof has been moved to an inoperative position, thus preventing injury to the several parts.

Another object is to so construct my invention that the locking means will automatically act to lock the reversing gear irrespective of the extent of movement of said reversing gear. v

A still further object is to positively lock the reversing gear valve against movement and to so connect the means which looks the reversing gear valve that it will not be released until additional means for locking themovement of the main piston rod has been released, another object being to actuate the said valve locking means and themain piston locking means by a common source of energy.

A still further object is to make my invention of a simple construction which can be readily adapted to suit various types .of reversing gears without requiring material change in the construction of the latter.

These objects, and other advantageous'ends which will be described hereinafter, I attain Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevation showing certain of the elements employed to lock the valve stem of the reversing gear.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevationwartly in section showing certain of the fluid conducting means and including, a bleeding valve of a type which I preferably use, the function of which will be hereinafter more fully described.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional elevation showing means employed for locking the main piston rod of the reversing gear.

Fig. 8 is a section on an enlarged scale taken on the line 88 of Fig. 1'.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of the elements of my invention.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section on the line 10-10 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 11 is a section on an enlarged scale on the line 1111 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary elevation of the main governing lever construction looking in the direction of the arrow as, (see Fig. 2).

In the drawings, I have illustrated a reversing gear of the same general type known as the Raggonet reversing gear, having a main cylinder 1 including a piston 2 which reciprocates, by air or other liquid pressure, a piston rod 3 when a valve (not shown) within a superimposed casing f is reciprocated by a valve rod 5.

The valve rod 5 is pivotally connected to the upper end of a lever 6, the lower end of the latter'being pivotally connected by a link 7 with an actuating head 8, the latter being slidable on a rail 9 and at its upper end being1 connected to the outer end of the piston ro 3. a

The lever 6 is also pivotally connected between its ends by a link 10 with the lower arm of a two-armed lever 11, said lever being pivoted at 12-to the forward end of the valve easing 4. The arm 11, when rocked on its pivot, moves the lever 6 to actuate the valve rod 5 to alternately admit air into opposite ends of the cylinder 1 to cause movement of the piston 2 to actuate the head 8, it being noted that said head 8 is connected by means (not illustrated) to produce the reverse of the locomotive or to control the movement of the valves for the admission of steam into the main driving cylinders of the locomotive or the like.

It will be noted that when the two-armed lever 11 is rocked as above mentioned, the lever 6 will fulcrum at its lower end to permit the movement of the valve rod, however,

the sliding movement of the head 8 will actuate the lever to move the valve to ultimately stop movement of the piston 2 after said head has moved a pre-determined dis tance along the rail 9.

The upper arm of the two-arm lever 11 is joined by a connecting link 13 to the lower end of the main governing lever 14, the latter being pivoted at 15 to a supporting structure 16 and is designed to move in an are adjacent a segmental plate 17, the latter having the usual teeth or rack 18 on its upper edge (see Fig. 1).

A pawl 19 is designed to engage the teeth 18 of the segmental plate 17 and is connected by a bar 20 to a handle 21, the latter being pivoted at 22 to the upper end of the main governing lever 14.

It Wlll be understood that when the main governing lever is moved on its pivot, the two arm lever 11 will also be moved on its pivot, and therefore the stroke of the rod 13 will be in proportion to the movement of the main governing lever 14, the reversing gear valve being closed by the elements above noted after the piston rod 3 has moved a distance proportionate to the movement of the main governing lever 14.

In applying my invention to the reversing gear just described, I pivotally connect a link 23 to the handle 21 and to a bell-crank lever 24, the latter being pivotally supported at 25. The arm 26 of the bell-cranklever 24 is connected to a stem 27 on a controlling valve 28, the latter being mounted in a valve casing 29 having an inlet passage 30 which connects with a pipe 31 containing air or other fluid under pressure (see Fig. 4).

The valve casing 29 also has an outlet passage 32 which communicates with a pipe 33, the latter intersecting a T-coupling 34. Another pipe 35 leads from the T-coupling 34 and communicates with a piston chamber 36 which is formed in the head 37 of a frame 38, the latter being preferabl secured to the rail 9 by bolts 40 or other suitable means.

The frame 38 has side wings 41 which extend at either side of the rail 9 and are connected at their bottom, said bottom being provided with two recesses '42 and 43 (see Figs. 1 and 7). These recesses provide housings for two coiled springs 44 and 45, the lower ends of said springs resting on plates 46, the latter being designed to be engaged by adjusting screws 47 and 48.

The recesses 42 and 43 communicate with a cavity 49 in which are slidably mounted two latches 51 and 52 having teeth 53 formed in their upper surfaces. The pitch of the teeth of both of said latches is preferably made equal and are designed'to intermesh with teeth 54 formed on the lower face of a rack 55, the latter being secured to the slidable head 8 of the reversing gear and slides within side rails 56 which are secured to the rail 9 (see Figs. 1 and 10).

A saddle 57 spans the rail 9 and rack 55 and is slidably mounted within the frame 38- The saddle 57, at its upper end, is provided with a plate 58 designed to be engaged and moved downwardly by a floating or free piston 59, which is mounted within the piston chamber 36 of the head 37 of frame 38, when air under pressure is admitted into said piston chamber 36 at its top through the ipe 35.

The lower end of the saddle 57 is in the form of two fin ers 60 which are substantially flat and esigned to neatly fit over the outer surfaces of said rail 9 and rack 55. Pins 61 and 62 extend through the fingers 60 and form pivot supports for two rocking levers 63 and 64, the pivot connection 0 said rocking levers being substantially midway between their ends. These rocking levers are pivotally connected at their opposite ends to the latches 51 and 52.

The cavity 49, in which the latches 51 and 52 are mounted, is such as to provide a ledge 50 to form a seat for the latches when they are moved downwardly by the saddle 57 against the action of the springs 44 and 45.

Referring to Fig. 7, it will be noted that the construction and arrangement of the latches is such that it is impossible for both of said latches to intermesh at the same time with the teeth of the rack 55, since the innermosttooth 65 of the latch 51 and the innermost tooth 66 of the latch 52 are-directly adjacent the contacting surfaces of said latches, so that if the tooth 65 of the latch 51 is fitting within one of the spaces between two of the teeth in the rack 55, the tooth 66 of the latch 52 must necessarily be in line with a tooth of said rack which is at one side of said space.

The saddle 57 is pivotally connected by a bar 67 having a slot 68 formed in its upper end and extending in the direction of the length of said bar. This slot is designed to receive a pivot pin 69 which projects centrally from a rocking lever 70.

' through said rack 78 receives A coiled s rin 71 is interposed between the bottom 0? said the'pin 69 for a inafter.

The rocking lever 70 at its opposite ends is pivotally connected with two stems 72 and 73 the latter being vertically movable an opening 74 in a plate 75, said plate being secured to the under surface of purpose described herea projection76 on the valve casing 4. Said' projection 76 is cut away at 77 toform a slideway for a toothed rack 7 8, the latter being connected to a pin 79 which forms a ment with pivotal connection between the upper end of the lever 6 and the valve rod 5, so that r the same motion as does the valve rod 5. v

The cut away portion 77 of the projection 76 also forms a recess for two latches 80 and 81 which are preferably cast integral with -the stems 72 and 73 respectively. The

latches 80 and 81 are of the same general construction as the latches 51 and 52 and have teeth designed to intermesh with the rack 78. The teeth of said latches 80 and 81 are so arranged that but one of the latches can intermesh withthe teeth of the rack at a time for the same reason as mentioned in connection with the teeth of thelatches 5 and 52.

The plate forms an abutment for the lower surfaces of the latches and 81 and serves a purpose hereinafter more fully described.

The T-coupling 34 which forms the means of communication between the pipes 33 and 35 (see Figs. 1 and 6), has a bleeding valve 82 having a relatively small outlet passage 83 designed to permit the escape of the air or fluid under pressure for the purpose of permitting the engagement of the several latches with their respective toothed racks, as will be explained more fully in the description of the operation of my invention.

The degree of opening of'the outlet passage 83 of the valve 82 can be regulated by a valve 84 which has a handle or wheel 85 connected thereto and by which it can be opened or closed. It will be noted by reference to Figs. 1 and 5, that even though the latch 80 is in engagement with the rack 7 8,

the pin 69 is not in engagement with the upper end of the connecting bar 67, so that said bar 67 can be moved downwardly a certain distance, without effecting movement of the rocking lever 70 or the latch 80.

Considering that the latch 51 is in locking "ejpgagement with the rack 55 and that the slot 68 and the bottom ofcauses the release of the pawl 19 from the teeth 18 of the segmental late 17, and also causes the movement of t e valve stem 27 to open the valve 28 and permit the fluid under pressure to enter the piston chamber 36 through the medium of the pipes 33 and 35. This action causes a downward movement of the piston 59 and consequently moves the latch 51 out of engagement with the rack 55. A continued downward movement of said piston will cause the connecting bar 67 to move the latch 80 out of engagesaid rack, thereby freeing the valve rod 5 and permitting the movement of the main governing lever 14 to effect the movement of the piston 2, piston 3, and actuating head 8.

The bleeding valve 82 can be so regulated that' the pressure within the pipes 33 and 35 will gradually reduce and permit the sprlngs 42 or 43 to move their respective latches into engagement with the rack 55 after the head 8 has stopped, and the spring 71 will also act to move either of the latches 80 or 81 into mesh with the rack 78. In other words, it is not necessary for the engineer to hold the handle 21 in a pressed position after he has properly set the main governlng lever 14, since the amount of opening of the valve 84 may be regulated to suit the greatest possible movement of the head 8 and the'pressure will not be reduced in said pipes 33 and 35 until the head 8 has had tlme to move into its extreme position in either direction.

It will be further observed that by providing the elongated slot 68 with the pin 69 normally located between the ends of said slot, the rack 55 will be unlocked or freed prior to the freeing of the rack 7 8, so that it is impossible to move the valve rod 5 while the latches 51 or 52 are in engagement with the rack 55, thus preventing injury to the parts thereof.

With the use of my invention, therefore, it is impossible for the engineer to move the main governing lever until after the latches have been moved to a position clear of the racks 55 and 78. He may then move said governing lever into any desired position, and after the head 8 has stopped, the pressure in the pipes 33 and 35 will be reduced through the escape of the air or liquid Ill through the passage 83 of thebleeding-valve and as said pressure is reduced, the springs will move the latches in o engagement with the racks.

It will be noted that the latches 80 and 81 when lowered come in contact with the up or surface of the plate 75. For example, in Fig. 5, the latch 81 is shown in engagement with said plate and a complete downward movement of the connecting bar 67 will cause the rocking lever 70 to fulcrum on the right hand pivot and thereby lower the latch out of its engagement with the rack 78.

While I have described my invention as taking a particular form, it will be understood that the various parts of my invention may be changed without departing from the spirit thereof, and hence I do not limit myself to the precise construction set forth, but consider that I am at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a reversing gear having a main piston and a valve controlling the movement of the main piston, of two separate means for locking the valve and piston, and common coupling means connected to said locking means whereby the movement of one of said locking means serves to actuate the other, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a reversing gear havin a main piston and a valve controlling the movement of the main piston, of two separate means for locking the valve and piston, a bar providing coupling means for the locking means, one of said locking means including a pin adapted to enter a slot in the bar, and a spring interposed between the pin and the end of the slot, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a reversing gear including a movable actuating member, of a rack movable in conjunction with said member, a frame providing a piston chamber, a piston movable in said chamber, a saddle spanning said rack and operated by said piston, a plurality of latches within said frame, rocking levers pivotally connected to opposite sides of said saddle and latches, means for admitting fluid under pressure to said piston chamber to move the latches out of contact with the rack, and means operative to move the latches into contact with the rack when the pressure of said fluid is reduced, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a member movable by fluid pressure, means movable to control the movement of said member, means for locking the member, means for locking said controlling means, a common member operatively conr'iected to both of said locking means, a lever for actuating said first means,

locking means for said lever and operative to simultaneously unlock said lever and to effect the unlocking movement of said first two locking means, substantially as described. I

5. The combination with a reversing gear including an actuating member and a valve rod, of means forming a lock for said actuating member, means forming a lock for said valve rod, and a bar directly connecting the locking means for said member and the looking means for said valve rod, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a reversing gear including an actuating member and a valve rod, of means forming a lock for said actuating member, means forming a lock for said valve rod, a member connecting the locking means for said member and the locking means for said valve rod, means providing a piston chamber, a piston operative by pressure fluid to move one of said locking means into an inoperative position, said connecting member being operative to move the other of said locking means into an inoperative position, substantially as described.

7. The combination with a reversing gear including an actuating member and a valve rod, of means forming a lock for said actuating member, means forming a lock for said valve rod, a member connecting the locking means for said member and the locking means for said valve rod, means providing a piston chamber, a piston operative by pressure fluid to move one of said lock- 1ng means into an inoperative position, said connecting member being operative to move the other of said locking means into an inoperative position, said connecting member being designed to permit a pre-determined amount of movement to said first locking means before said second locking means is moved into its inoperative position, substan tially as described.

8. The combination with a reversing gear including an actuating member and a valve rod, of means forming a lock for said actuating member, means forming a lock for said valve rod, a member connecting the locking means for said member and the locking means for said valve rod, means providing a piston chamber, a piston operative by pressure fluid to move one of said locking means into an inoperative position, said connecting member being operative to move the other of said locking means into an inoperative position, said connecting member having a slot therein, a pin connected to said second locking means and projecting into the slot of said connecting member whereby a predetermined amount of movement of said first locking means may be obtained prior to the movement of said second locking means into an inoperative position, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a reversing gear including an actuating member and a valve rod, of a rack movable in conjunction with said member, a rack movable in conjunction with said valve rod, latches for engagement with both of said racks, common means for moving all of said latches out of engagement with their respective racks, and means for automatically moving the latches into locking engagement with their respective racks, substantially as described.

10. The combination with a reversing gear including an actuating member and a valve rod, of a rack movable in conjunction with said member. a rack movable in conjunction with said valve rod, latches for engagement with both of said racks, a member operatively connected to the latches of both of the racks, means providing a piston chamber, a piston movable in said chamber, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said chamber whereby the piston is actuated to move the latches out of locking en gagement with the racks, and means operative to move the latches into contact with the rack when the pressure of said fluid is reduced, substantially as described.

11. The combination with a reversing gear including an actuating member and a valve rod, of a rack movable in conjunction with said member, a rack movable in conjunction with said valve rod, latches for engagement with both of said racks, a member operatively connected to the latches of both of the racks, means providing a piston chamber, a piston movable in said chamber, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said chamber whereby the piston is actuated to move the latches out of locking engagement with the racks, means operative to move the latches into contact with the rack when the pressure of said fluid is reduced, a rocking lever pivotally connected to the latches of the valve rod rack, said connecting member having a slot therein, a pin on said rocking lever projecting into the slot, and a spring bearing on said connecting member and operative to move and hold saidlatter latches in engagement with their rack, substantially as described.

12. The combination with a member movable by fiuid pressure, means movable to control the movement of said member, means for locking said first member, means for locking said controlling means, means operatively connectin both of said locking means, a frame providing a piston chamber,

a piston movable in said chamber, means communicating with said piston chamber and forming a conduit for fluid under pressure whereby the piston is actuated to move both of said locking means into an inoperative position, and means operative to move the locking means into their locking posisure, a valve in said conduit, meansfor opening said latter valve whereby fluid under pressure is admitted to said piston chamber to move the piston and thereby move said first locking means into an inoperative position to free said actuating member, said connecting member being designed to permit said movement of the first loo-king means prior to the movement of the second locking means into an inoperative position, substantially as described.

14. The combination with a reversing gear including an actuating member, a valve rod, and means for operating the valve rod, of means for locking said first member, means for locking said valve rod, means operatively connecting both of said locking means, a frame providing a piston chamber, a piston movable in said chamber, means communicating with said piston chamber and forming a conduit for fluid under pressure, a valve in said conduit, means for opening said latter valve whereby fluid under pressure is admitted to said piston chamber to move the piston and thereby move said locking means into aninoperative position to free the actuating member and the V3.1"6 rod, a bleeding valve in said conduit operative to permit the reduction of pressure of said fluid, and means operative to move both of said locking means into their operative position after the pressure of said fluid has been reduced, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

STEPHAN BAADER.

Witnesses:

C. R. ZIEGLER, CHAs. E. Forms. 

